Bipartisan Group Rolls Out Plan for Auto No-Fault Insurance Overhaul
The group says its plan would, among other things, bar insurers from using factors like gender and zip code to set rates
Photo credit: Jake Neher/WDET
Lawmakers in Lansing are gearing up for a showdown over Michigan’s auto no-fault law. A group of Republicans and Democrats in the state House announced changes they plan to introduce.
They said their plan would make car insurance more affordable without limiting coverage.
The bipartisan group plans to introduce legislation that would, among other things, bar insurers from using factors like gender and zip code to set rates.
State Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo (D-Detroit) plans to introduce this legislation. She said, “I’m not saying women are better drivers than others. But I’m just saying it’s not fair to charge us more because of our pulchritude.”
Another portion of the bipartisan coalition’s plan would make the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) more transparent.
Rep. Ben Frederick (R-Owosso) said auto insurance is a topic that is constantly brought up. But he said nothing ever gets done.
“So this year we’re taking what has many might think is a forgotten approach in Lansing and certainly long gone in D.C. – a bipartisan approach,” he said.
But Speaker of the House Tom Leonard (R-DeWitt) might have other plans.
Leonard has been working with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Chairwoman of the House Committee on Insurance, Rep. Lana Theis (R-Brighton) on another version of an auto no-fault overhaul.
Leonard said he’s happy to see multiple groups working on the issue.
“It shows the momentum that the mayor and I have on this issue right now,” he said. “Outside groups are scared, they are finally coming to the table because they know we are very close to getting something together that is going to deliver real rate relief to the citizens of this state.”
Leonard wouldn’t release specifics on his plan. But he did call it a citizen centered approach that will, “fix this rigged system.”
